Mohammed Arish, a government administrator in Surkh Rod, said a father and his four sons and four members of another family were among the dead.

“They are farmers. They are innocent. They are not insurgents or militants,” Arish told The Associated Press by phone.

Arish said the protesters had tried to march toward the provincial capital of Jalalabad before being turned back by police.

The Nangahar governor’s office said at least three people were injured during a clash with police. …

“According to a Nato and Isaf [International Security Assistance Force] statement they were targeting Taliban sub-commanders and some fighters which their intelligence said were hiding in a compound outside a village.

“But the villagers said none of those killed had anything to do with the Taliban, that all of them were innocent civilians and members of two different families.” …

Last year was the deadliest for Afghan civilians since the war started in 2001, according to the United Nations.

Afghan officials say about 170 Afghan civilians were killed between the months of March and April this year alone, an increase of 33 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Hundreds of protesters brandished sticks, threw stones and burned a US flag in eastern Afghanistan on Friday, furious at the killing of civilians by Nato forces in an overnight raid.

At least two people were killed Friday when several hundred Afghan villagers clashed with security forces while attempting to march to the eastern city of Jalalabad to protest the latest massacre of civilians by US military forces: here.

USA: Over 13 Million People Push Congress for Afghanistan Exit Strategy: here.

The massive suicide bombing that ripped through a NATO convoy in Kabul Tuesday marked a grim milestone for American forces, bringing the total number killed in action in “Operation Enduring Freedom” to the 1,000 mark: here.

The monthly cost of the war in Afghanistan, driven by troop increases and fighting on difficult terrain, has topped Iraq costs for the first time since 2003 and shows no sign of letting up: here.

USA: Contractors shipped useless gun parts to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan… and still got paid; here.

17 thoughts on “Afghans protest NATO killing civilians”

I have some sad news to share with you: 1,000 American troops have been killed in Afghanistan.

I hope you will join us to voice your opposition to this costly, inhumane war that’s not making us safer. Please join us in laying a virtual flower at the White House Facebook page.

This is a heartbreaking toll on American families. These were people’s sons and daughters, husbands and wives, moms and dads. Our hearts go out to all of their families. Our hearts also go out to the families of the many thousands of Afghan civilians who have died.

We want the President and the American people to know that we abhor the awful cost of this war and want our troops to come home.

Please join us in laying a virtual flower at the White House Facebook page.

Sincerely,
Robert Greenwald & Derrick Crowe
and the Brave New Foundation Team

Afghan military investigators have accused Ahmed Wali Karzai, U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai’s controversial half-brother, of intervening to protect powerful allies who are squatting illegally on government property in southern Afghanistan.

In response, Ahmed Wali Karzai shut down the Kandahar legislature this week by refusing to lead the provincial council until he can clear his name.

“The shura is not going to do anything until this thing is cleared up,” he told McClatchy in a telephone interview Monday, referring to the 14-member council. “If they can find one thing in this report that is true, I am ready to accept any kind of punishment.”

The eight-page Defense Ministry report comes as American strategists are counting on the Kandahar kingpin to be a key ally in the evolving U.S.-led effort to drive the Taliban out of their spiritual capital and bolster a pro-Western government there.

However, the latest dispute pits Ahmed Wali Karzai, a member of Afghanistan’s dominant Pashtun ethnic group, against the local Afghan Army corps commander, who’s considered an ally of a rival Pashtun leader, and against the defense ministry in Kabul, which is largely controlled by Tajiks from the northeast of the country.
Business rivals fight over land

According to the report, a copy of which McClatchy obtained, Afghan officials who are responsible for protecting military land in Kandahar told investigators that Ahmed Wali Karzai intervened to stop them from retaking 150 acres that are being used in part by two Karzai allies who control much of the private security business in Kandahar.

“When the delegation asked these officials why they had neglected their work, they told them, ‘We were told orally by Ahmed Wali not to touch these guys; let them work,’ ” said Maj. Gen. Sher Mohammed Zazai, the Afghan Army corps commander in Kandahar, who ordered the investigation.

Investigators concluded that Ahmed Wali Karzai’s friends, allies and relatives from the Pashtun Popalzai tribe were building offices, housing projects and parking lots illegally on more than 1,000 acres of government land in and around Kandahar city.

“These are Ahmed Wali Karzai’s people,” said General Zazai, who urged the provincial council to help him reclaim the government land seized by “powerful people.”

Ahmed Wali Karzai said he’d refuse to take part in council meetings until the Defense Ministry sent a special delegation to investigate the charges.

“There are more than 100,000 Popalzai in Kandahar, so I am responsible for anything they do?” he said. “If an American commits a crime in Afghanistan, should we blame it on Obama?”
Kandahar council sides with Ahmed Wali Karzai

The Kandahar provincial council joined Karzai in the strike, and the council’s deputy criticized the report as a politically motivated hit piece meant to undermine Karzai’s unparalleled influence in Kandahar.

“If Ahmed Wali Karzai does not come to the council, we won’t come either,” said Haji Agha Lalai, the body’s deputy head.

In the past, Ahmed Wali Karzai has come under scrutiny for his role in pushing a modern Kandahar housing-development project spearheaded by brother Mahmoud Karzai.

As the head of the Afghan Aarmy corps in Kandahar in 2006, Gen. Ramatullah Raufi said in a recent interview, he’d confronted Ahmed Wali Kazai and temporarily blocked expansion of the project, known as Aino Mina, on government land.

General Raufi was tapped to be Kandahar’s provincial governor in 2008, but he said he was ousted from the post after repeatedly clashing with Ahmed Wali Karzai over business deals.

Ahmed Wali Karzai dismissed Raufi as a thief who was tossed out of office after three months for trying to steal government money.

“Raufi is a pimp,” Karzai said. “He’s corrupt up to his neck.”

(Special correspondent Hashim Shukoor contributed to this story from Kabul.)